


Learning

by sanctuary_for_all



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: And is still Catholic enough to be VERY good at guilt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, M/M, Nicky still has some real issues about being in the Crusades, The team fights bigotry and racial intolerance, this was probably a mistake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25837813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: Nicky remembers all to well what it's like to hate. That doesn't mean he's ever made peace with it. (Set sometime after the movie)
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 9
Kudos: 280





	Learning

They hadn’t meant to be in Paris long, only a few late night hours before catching the next train as part of their journey to Madrid. They wouldn’t have left the station at all if Nile hadn't wanted a closer look at the Eiffel Tower, fitting accompaniment to the engineering commentary Joe had been providing since the moment they'd first seen it from the train window. If they were to happen across a late-night patisserie along the way, then so much the better.

What they happened upon instead was the eternal and unmistakable sounds of a struggle. Three men in their mid-20s were following a woman in a shayla, yelling obscenities at her and telling her to go back to "her country." They were distracted enough that they didn't notice the group across the street go utterly still for a moment, then start shadowing them.

Nicky stayed along the very edge, muscles wound tighter than sailors' knots as he watched the men. If these men had been born when he had, they would have been recruited for the Crusades in a moment. Though as Crusaders, they would not have needed to content themselves with mere harassment. They had been cleansing the world of infidels, after all.

His fingers curled slightly, itching to wrap themselves around the hilt of his sword.

"Careful, mio caro," Joe murmured against the shell of his ear. His hand slid around Nicky’s waist, the warmth of his touch grounding him in the moment. “They are cruel, but they are not soldiers. Against one of your skills, they would be sheep to the slaughter.”

He felt Nile glance over at him, concerned, heard Andy say something quiet to her in explanation. Across the street, one of the men had just snatched the Shayla from the woman’s head. When she turned, trying to reach for it, the men circled around and trapped her against the wall.

Nicky had started moving the moment the first man reached out, making the other two break formation to go after him. Nile swooped in to get her, jacket off to replace the missing Shayla, while Nicky used one man as a weapon to knock down the other. Joe grabbed the third man by the collar, kicking his knees out from under him as Nick took out one with an elbow to the face. Then he grabbed them both and slammed them down on the ground, while Joe shoved his own man down beside them. “Do you yield?” he growled in French.

One man tried to turn his head to spit at him. “Fuck you. Only reason you’re protecting that—”

Nicky slammed his head into the ground again, then leaned down close. “The only reason you are still _alive_ is because I have been where you are. I breathed in hate until I could not distinguish it from air, until I did not _blink_ when the people I trusted told me that the slaughter of an entire people was God’s will. And do you know where that kind of hate leaves you? Lying in a pool of your own blood and shit, slowly choking to death on your own hatred.”

The man’s slightly less foolish compatriot made a whimpering noise, and even the more defiant one was looking back up at Nicky with pure fear on his face. “Don’t kill us,” he choked. 

Nicky’s grip on the man tightened. “Then _learn_.” His voice was cold as a blade, hardened rage and shame nearly a thousand years old. “We are all brothers and sisters, and _anyone_ who tries to tell you otherwise is using you as a tool in a power play you cannot begin to understand. We are here to do good and love our fellow men. That is _all_.”

The man underneath his hand swallowed. “B-but they—”

“They what?” His grip tightened, making them both wince. “They’re living their _lives_. If _anyone’s_ lives could be considered a crime, it is men who mindlessly perpetuate hatred.” He leaned in close. “Should I rid the world of that crime? I could certainly rid this street of it.”

“No, sir,” the other man squeaked. “We won’t do it again.”

“Never,” added the man Joe was holding. “We’ll be good, honest.”

“And if you’re not?”

“You’ll come find us,” said the man who’d tried to spit at him. He sounded broken now, and there was a suspiciously warm wet spot on his pants.

He moved back, letting them go, and Joe released his in the same moment. All three men scrambled to their feet and ran down in the opposite direction the women had been going, moving as if they were fleeing the devil himself.

Nicky sighed as he watched them run. “How did you stand me?” he asked quietly.

Joe helped him up. “To be fair, I did kill you several times.”

“That didn’t count.” He swallowed, shaking his head. “I killed you as many times as you killed me.”

“But we both stopped.” Joe took his face in his hands. “You learned, habibi. You moved past the lies you had been fed your entire life and became the man who has been my entire world for all these long centuries.” He crossed the brief distance between them for a long, slow kiss. “Those fools will never be the kind of man you are, but perhaps they too can learn to be better.”

Nicky leaned his forehead against Joe’s. “I had to die multiple times to figure it out. They don’t have that luxury.”

“But they feared death tonight, and received wisdom instead. Perhaps that will be a beginning.” Infinitely gentle, he slid an arm around Nicky’s waist. “Nile and Andy decided to escort our new friend to her destination. Shall we see if we can catch up?”

Nicky picked up the lost shaya, carefully winding it up as he pressed close to Joe. Then, tucking it under one arm, he slid his free hand into Joe’s back pocket. “It is a lovely night for a walk.”

Joe laughed. “Yes, it is.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [original fiction,](https://jennifferwardell.wixsite.com/mybooks) my [blog,](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


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